Seven years ago, when we first bought an apartment on the ship, we boarded in Tahiti.  We hadn’t been back to the South Pacific since, so when the ship scheduled an expedition (run by a team of professional explorers) in French Polynesia, we decided to revisit this beautiful part of the world.

We took our dear friends Doug and Colleen, both world-class fly-fishing experts.  Our first few stops were at gorgeous atolls – rings of coral surrounding shallow turquoise lagoons.  There, Doug gave me an in-depth lesson in the art of catching bone fish, one of the most difficult game fish of the sea.  I’ve always thought fishing to be boring, but Doug’s explanation of the technique made it fascinating.  (Didn’t convert me though.)

I had expected the lovely atolls, but what I didn’t expect was the spectacular topography of the volcanic formations of the Marquesas Islands.  I joined a very difficult hike to a noted waterfall and was amazed at the formations and ever-changing scenery.  I’d put Nuku Hiva in my top five, not far behind the Grand Canyon and Petra, Jordan for amazing topography.